Civic Engagement in the Network Society

Summary:

Describe the "civic engagement" ambitions for your project in some of the terms proposed by Castells and Juris. Do you hope to achieve some of the policy or values changes proposed by Castells? Are you hoping to take advantage of some of the grassroots communications or organizations strategies proposed by Juris? Can you relate Castells, Juris and the ambitions of your project's civic engagement to the paradigms explored by Shirky (organizing without organizations), the Korean netizens (organizing with organizations) and Moore (the nature of "super" power from below)?

Civic Engagement in the Network Society

MarcBousquet 1242842728|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

In your reading for Week 8, Manuel Castells raised questions about the relationship between innovation and social values, describing the way technology has been used to create an accelerating polarization in the distribution of wealth: a static or stagnating middle, growing poverty and extreme poverty, growing concentration or super-accumulation. He pointed out that, likewise, technology was a "prerequisite" to solving these social problems, especially growing inequality and the "over-exploitation" especially of vulnerable populations (women, children, migrants, ethnically oppressed groups, etc). He emphasized that technology was not by itself either the cause or the solution, but that changes in social values: emerging forms of solidarity on a global scale, for example—might result in policy changes that would direct innovation in more positive changes.

In this week's reading, Castells emphasizes the policy choices that societies must confront in five arenas: public sector investment, education, just forms of development and "shared growth," regulation of property rights, and the tension between direct democracy and bureaucracies in government and enterprise alike. These policy choices become critical in the massive structural change he observes from industrial, bureaucratic and vertical forms of organization to network forms of organization in the economy and related arenas of global power and influence: ie, networked globalization from above. At present, he observes, the advantages of network technology and networked forms of organization are very unevenly distributed: mostly to the already powerful. He advocates for policy changes that would redistribute those advantages.

Juris explores how at least some groups are seizing the advantages of network technology right now, despite the opposition of wealth, power, and entrenched bureaucracy, and trying to frame a globalization from below. He agrees with Castells that most of the power of the "network of networks" is held by those at the very top of the socio-economic order. But he argues that the "cultural logic of networking" (the same logic and the same logic that guides globalization from above) is also emerging as an ideal toward which contemporary activists are striving. Of course, most ideals are never completely realized: but ideals still shape the goals, values, conversations and actions of individuals and groups. He is particularly interested in the opportunity for small groups involved in local politics to use network technology and network organization to scale up their actions (to become part of of a global movement) in ways similar to the way that a local business now routinely globally sources production, services, information, and so on.

In other words, Juris is interested in seeing how local, democratic actors from below can source activist energy and commitment, hook their network into larger, global "networks of resistance" in the same way that local actors from above have established global networks in their own interest. He calls this a a “'politics of scale' based on direct coordination and communication among small-scale, autonomous units without the need for hierarchical mediating structures such as traditional political parties or labor unions."

His research is based on actual large-scale resistance movements that draw on European anarchist traditions of direct democracy, translating those traditions of loose federation into new ways of "doing politics": "network-based forms of political organization and practice based on non-hierarchical structures, horizontal coordination among autonomous groups, open access, direct participation, consensus-based decision-making, and the ideal of the free and open circulation of information (although this is not always conformed to in practice). While the command-oriented logic of traditional parties and unions is based on recruiting new members, developing unitary strategies, political representation through vertical structures, and the pursuit of political hegemony, network-based politics involves the creation of broad umbrella spaces, where diverse organizations, collectives, and networks converge around a few common hallmarks, while preserving their autonomy and identity-based specificity. Rather than recruitment, the objective becomes horizontal expansion…."

The goal of "horizontal expansion" as opposed to "recruitment" is to create a mass movement based on common interests, values and goals (even an understanding of common enemies) without eradicating individual identities and agendas in the process.

He discusses both communication strategies and organizing strategies.

On the communication front, Juris observes, "global justice movements are informational. The various protest tactics employed by activists, despite emerging in very different cultural contexts, all produce highly visible, theatrical images for mass-mediated consumption, including: giant puppets and street theater, mobile street carnivals (Reclaim the Streets), militant protesters advancing toward police lines with white outfits, protective shields, and padding (White Overalls), and black-clad, masked urban warriors smashing the symbols of corporate capitalism (Black Bloc)." (The article has more in this vein.)

On the organizing front, he notes that the values of these new political actors ("autonomy, self-management, federation, direct action, and direct democracy") have both libertarian and anarchist roots, though in Europe, where his research is based, the roots are particularly in anarchism, which is often misunderstood: "Despite widespread popular belief, anarchism does not mean complete disorder. One of the important threads uniting the many diverse strands of anarchism involves precisely the importance of organization, although of a distinctly different kind: organization based on grassroots participation from below rather than centralized command from above."

Please use this space to describe the "civic engagement" ambitions for your project in some of the terms proposed by Castells and Juris.

Do you hope to achieve some of the policy or values changes considered by Castells?

Are you hoping to take advantage of some of the grassroots communications or organizations strategies proposed by Juris?

Can you relate Castells, Juris and the ambitions of your project's civic engagement to the paradigms explored by Shirky (organizing without organizations), the Korean netizens (organizing with organizations) and Moore (the nature of "super" power from below)?

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

mmostamandy 1243839430|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement project is about the prevalence of racism in the Bay Area, with an emphasis on college racism at SCU. Both Castells and Juris’ ideas come into play when I talk about my topic. Castells emphasizes that reform is needed on all levels in order to bring true, good, sustainable change for society (17). Policy choices are needed for structural change (17). With racism, this is also the case. There must be awareness about the importance of diversity and multiculturalism, and as Bobby Seale said, “You can’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity.” The best way to reach a global audience about an important issue that affects everyone is to have support at all levels.

Another level that Castells talks about is the education system. He says, “Education is based on learning to learn along the life cycle…applying this learning capacity in all domains of professionals and social life” (18). This is 100% a huge part of my action plan for combating racism. In my project, I talk about the ways that SCU is promoting diversity on our campus. We have advocacy on a number of levels, student (the MCC), academic (Ethnic Studies), and administrative (OML). Although SCU still has a long ways to go, implementing advocacy, awareness, and support on a number of levels ensures sustainability.

Juris’ “cultural logic of networking” (256) is also very important to my project. It is very important to have horizontal ties across races, ethnicities, and cultures when advocating for diversity and multiculturalism. The grassroots movements like those that Juris describes have long fought racism. This goes back to the Bobby Seale quotes about solidarity. Racism is about equality, it’s about a horizontal system of education and understanding which is exactly what Juris talks about. Diversity activism is about starting from the bottom and being self-managed to bring social change (264). Media gives people a space to communicate with each other at a horizontal level. Degrees, age, status, and race do not matter when you’re utilizing new technologies. This brings about social change similar to the change that I want to bring about racism in my project.

Juris’ idea about reaching people with similar interests for the sake of social change through a horizontal system is very similar to the Korean Netizens. One of the things that the South Korean government did was to provide training programs and target those individuals who needed access the most, like unemployed housewives. This is also connected to Castells theory about support and engagement at all levels. In the case of the Korean Netizens, the government supported an important aspect of global society by reaching their own peoples’ needs in the best way possible.

Juris’ theory on the “cultural logic of networking” (256) is also indicative of Shirky and organizing without formal organizations. Grassroots movements are about people coming together in support of a common idea/cause. As I mentioned previously, this relates to my project in that the fight against racism has been a bottom up initiative by individuals.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

rpompa 1243892619|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement assignment involves the reformation and development of Santa Clara’s Career Center. As Castell argues, I think that the career center, a form of social organization, should be based on networking. It should involve students networking with professors, faculty, other students, and prospective employers. I also like the idea of creating a Self-Directed Mass Communication in the form of blogs that students could use to communicate with each other about the career center and job opportunities. This “allows people to communicate with each other without going through the channels set up by the institutions of society.” I also want the Career Center to exist as (1) a network of computer supported infrastructure that uses technologies to enhance their services, (2) networks as organization structure, that provides a stable and efficient form, and 93) networks as political mode, that promotes ethical job openings and positions (Juris). I would like to use my ideas for improving our career center to include the concept of focusing on Global Justice Movements. Students should be aware of job opportunities that benefit our society so they don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that investment banking is the best placement. I believe that, as Juris points out, our Career Center society should be global, informational, and be centered on creating and sustaining networks. Overall, I think our Career Center has room for improvement and by making the center more democratic, building up the technology, and improving its structure we could change the career paths of many Santa Clara students for the better

In addition I do plan to achieve some of the policies that Castell discusses in his article., I think that the networking technologies used by the career center and SCU students should be adaptable and flexible in nature. They should be able to relate to everyone, while maintain a single overarching goal. As Castell says, it’s best to create “flexibility built into stability.” IN addition I think the network society of the career center in particular should be global. It should connect student with resources not only available in the Silicon Valley, but also resources outside of the city, state, and country. I also think the “emergency of individualism as the dominant culture of our societies” is a good model to follow. The center should be focused on each individual and their specific needs.

I am planning on creating an “open space” (similar to the forum) where students, whatever their year or major, can communicate and network. I want students to feel comfortable to ask questions and make comments about career center events and workshops. I think that creating this forum, weather it be online or in some open gathering in a conference room in Benson, would be beneficial to developing the career network within Santa Clara and the local community. I think that it’s a good idea for the structure to be horizontal. While I understand that the center needs structure from the top, I think the direction it heads should come from the bottom and branch out so that the career center is responding to the students’ needs.

I think my civic engagement project involves a little bit of each. It involves, as Juris points out, keeping one foot inside and one foot outside. What he means is that it’s important to build “an autonomous space ‘separate’, yet connected.” In this way it is organizing without organization (as Shirky points) out and organizing with organization (as which is described in the netizens article. I think that my civic engagement can work with the career center directly to receive their services and grow, however I also think they should keep one foot outside (in a blog for example) so they can communicate freely without the organized network and structure of the career center. As is pointed out in Juris article “Separating does not necessarily mean dividing… It’s about separating in order to work more effectively together.”

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

eching 1243968425|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Civic engagement is essentially at the heart of my final hypertext. I am promoting eating locally and highlighting the dangers of food importing. I aim to inspire change on many levels including policy makers, grocers and especially consumers. By highlighting the need for a sustainable solution with everyone doing their own part, I hope to be part of a multi-level, true change for how our society consumes food products. Like Castells argues, I want to make known this need for true involvement to bring about a sustainable shift in the way Americans eat, through the medium of the internet, a "networked society." Using these resources together, people can encourage local movements and turn to others (globally) for advice. These local civic engagements taken together can produce a global change, which is something I think that underlies Castells ideology.

Also, because I am highlighting efforts of local CSA's I am relating to the Korean Netizens in that I am promoting organizing and participating with organizations to produce change. There will also be a page where I talk about the revolution of home gardens which relates to Shirky- you can be part of the change (growing/eating locally) without organizing with an existing organization. Overall, I hope to highlight ways in which people can shift their lifestyles together as part of a collective whole, in order to bring about a sustainable change.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

hilary titus 1246428873|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My project engages the history, perpetuation, and implications of menstrual etiquette. I want to talk about this most taboo topic: women's periods. I think it's arguable that my project fits under Castells' idea of policy change through technology. However, rather than something specific like government policy, the policies I'm trying to challenge are cultural norms. While some cultures and religious traditions have real, enforceable policies on menstrual etiquette, the typical, contemporary experience for a woman in US culture, at least, is not based off rules written anywhere explicitly but an overwhelming silence.

In the same movement, I believe I am attempting to challenge policy using horizontalism. My video consists of 15 college women discussing their experiences of their own periods. It was important to me to do my best not to lead their answers in any way. The point was to give them a space to voice their experience. Each interview spread far beyond that, being more girls to interview or simply more conversations beyond the interview. The thought is that with more men and women discussing the topic, spreading horizontally, the cultural "policies" of silence will change themselves.

In my research, I found hundreds of others talking about the topic and linked to some of their sites. This is similar to the idea of horizontally connecting large numbers of people without the need for a bureaucratic ladder.

I'm using technology to speak up about a topic I've found shrouded in damaging silence. At the same time, with this technological project, I'm reaching out and connecting to others on and offline to do my best to further a movement.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

lydiab 1243708053|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Castells discusses the “network society.” This modern day network society is based on global communication networks, and their capacity to reach to all other networks and countries on the planet. He also writes about the technological paradigm and it’s incredibly collaborative nature. To achieve social change, he writes, it depends on “where, by whom, for whom, and for what communication and information technologies are used.” Social change utilized with global networks depends entirely on the civic engagement of individuals. This is so similar to the U.S. government policy and ideals, voting—to ensure a democratically representative government—depends on if a majority of citizens actually do vote. Unfortunately, not many do, so our government is not really efficiently representative. However, if more people join networks, civically engage and participate, we could achieve social change, as Castells would say. Castells writes that the network society, which I have been referring to is “a social structure based on networks operated by information and communication technologies” (7). These formal structures depend entirely on collaboration and participation of constituents. My hypertext project is on waitressing. I plan on exploring media representation of the female waitress, including personal experiences, formal studies and researched articles. I am trying to explore and focus on the plight of the waitress. My project is part of a “civic engagement” because it is aimed at “social change” as Castells discusses. My hypertext is part of the movement, because I am inserting myself into the collaborative process of network involvement. Castells writes on three trends of the new communication system: both global and local, increasingly inclusive and interactive, and initiation by individuals, reaching globally. I feel that my civic engagement project is striving towards these three criteria of modern communication. I desire for my project to be local, as it addresses personal experiences, but it is also global, because I am sure that the waitress experience is similar in many restaurants globally. It is also increasingly inclusive because it is global. I would like it also to be interactive, and this is currently a working goal for my hypertext. My hypertext will also meet the third criteria, as the conversation will be initiated by an individual (me), and has the potential to reach globally, as it is on the internet, and discusses a broad, relatable issue.

I also hope to take advantage of some of the grassroots communications and organizations strategies proposed by Juris. These strategies are based on the idea of “horizontal ties and connections,” free circulation of information, collaboration, and self-managed networking. Juris writes that networks are “increasingly associated with values related to grassroots participatory democracy.” I feel that my project is extremely grassroots because it is self-managed, and not supported by any major producer, corporation, etc. I really like the idea of horizontal rather than vertical. The idea of vertical spread is much more hierarchical, concentrated, exclusive. It would also value bureaucracy, and wouldn’t encourage civic engagement of a large population of people. Horizontal ties and connections, though, is inclusive of many peoples, locally and globally. Power will be much less concentrated, and directly democratic. I usually resist technology, but reading and thinking about such an inclusive network is very exciting. I would like to think that such global and horizontal networks will solve social problems like third-world hunger and poverty.

Further, I think I can relate Castells, Juris and the ambitions of my project's civic engagement to the paradigms explored by Shirky (organizing without organizations), the Korean netizens (organizing with organizations) and Moore (the nature of "super" power from below). I am organizing without organizations, as Shirky writes about in his chapters in “Here comes everybody” and ideals of sharing, cooperating, and collaboration. But in a way, I am also organizing with organizations, because I am reaching out to other waitresses, and people who have business or social relations with waitresses. Our hypertexts are also in accordance with Moore’s idea of the “super” power from below. It involves individual civic engagement reaching globally. Our projects are grassroots civic engagement projects from below, reaching out to others globally and locally.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

cruiz 1243748082|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement project is about funerals as a Celebration of Life versus a Gathering to Mourn the Dead. I'm looking at the funeral industry itself as well as various types of funerals in America that people choose perhaps based on economic situation or religious affiliation. The purpose of this is to get people thinking about different types of funerals beyond the traditional funerals that the funeral industry has a choke-hold on.

Castells talks about education as a key issue that must be addressed. He claims that if societies can't confront this issue, they will end up with severe economic and social problems. Castells emphasizes education that encourages creativity, innovation, and the ability to apply learning. In my project, I'm going aim for a hypertext that stimulates readers to think rather just me telling them how to think by spitting facts at them. Like I mentioned above, I want people to think creatively outside the traditional funeral, perhaps planning a funeral that is indicative of the family and the deceased. My hope is that they will take what they learn and able to apply it. Castells also mentions this idea of "shared growth," in which the new model of development is given a new meaning. He says that as we develop more productive systems, the harder it becomes for the "marginal population" to get back up to speed. In order to fix this, Castells suggests a "concerted international public policy acting on the roots of the new model of development (technology, infrastructure, education, diffusion and management of knowledge) rather than just providing for the needs arising from social exclusion in the form of charity" (19). My project will seek to resolve some economic problems caused by the cost of funerals. In getting people to think about alternatives to the traditional funeral, it may narrow down costs as well, which is part of roots of this issue.

Juris mentions the use of discussion forums and chat rooms as a way of organizing. Activists used self-managed forums to post their own news stories. They are sharing their ideas and resources acting as an alternative media. They’ve created a space that can’t be censored or tainted by the corporate media. Even though I’ve thought about getting information from blogs, I never thought about actually participating and posing questions. By using these grassroots communications, I will be able to get a better feel of the reflective writing in these blogs and forums. In Here Comes Everybody, Shirky starts off with a story about a man named Evan who used his website as a blog to post progressions of his effort to retrieve his friend’s phone. Evan got incredible support from other people on the internet who sympathized with him. This was a way of organizing without organization. Evan had gathered strong support for his struggle by using this blog and allowing other people to voice their opinions, many of which offered him help in some form or another. This is evidence of the effectiveness Juris’ organization strategies by use of blogs and forums.

Castells and Juris both mention direct democracy. Castells mentions that accepting democracy of communication would be accepting direct democracy itself. Having a direct democracy would threaten the power of experts. Juris shows that new networking technologies are creating a grassroots democracy, thus creating an organizational form and “democratic laboratories.” Juris recognizes that having direct democracy forms of participation will affect the “experts,” as it shifts globally, making this organization strategy all the more effective.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

WhoisMysterion 1243804831|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Castells first talks about using network technology as a vital part of solutions to many of today’s problems. In my project I am attempting to look at the problem of funding in California, and specifically for K-12 education. The state is going bankrupt and it seems as though every time we run out of money they propose to cut school funding first. So we are looking at a 2.5 billion dollar cut in school funding or a raise in taxes. This is the societal problem that California is facing today. When thinking in Castells frame of mind we must ask how can network technology be used to solve this problem? Well personally I believe that a centralized network describing the funding strategies for K-12 schools may help both states and countries to assess how effectively they are using their funds. In this way we could be using network technology, something as easy as a website that holds all of the information, to promote a network of ideas. This network could bring about social change by inspiring new ideas. While this is not exactly Castells idea it has the same spirit. Newer technology should allow us to step outside of our comfort zone and step into a place where we have the information to challenge the status quo effectively. Castells next reading deals with public sector investment and education among other topics, and while my topic is not directly network technology, these themes are directly related to the problem I am attempting to address. However, using network technology I hope to enlighten the public on this topic and inspire some discussion of the issue.

Juris’ ideas are more relevant because the “grassroots movement” is my ultimate goal. The topic of the California budget is almost never discussed in a calm matter and is usually driven by partisan politics. However, I believe if the common people were informed on the situation they could see alternatives to the given proposals of straight cuts or higher taxes. Getting this level of information out to the common people will need to happen in a grassroots fashion because not many organizations have enough money to spend on TV ad campaigns. If we can create a global network of people interested in remedying the situation in new and innovative ways, maybe one person will eventually come up with a solution that is better than the current alternatives. Also building a following for this type of movement will have to be horizontal. There will be much passion about this topic because it has become so polarized in the media. With that being said, to get a group of people together for this type of common goal we will have to make sure that we do not eradicate individual identities. It is actually a good thing when people do not march in lock step, and when people who have different world views come together on a project for a specific purpose it demonstrates that that project must be important. I believe that the horizontal expansion would be vital in the type of movement my topic could inspire.

It is pretty easy to see the ideas of the netizens and other groups like that in these readings. Castells and Juris both talk about using technology to drive social movements. Castells speaks more about the inequality of access causing a disparity among people who can take advantage of it, but we have seen small examples that show common people can take advantage of these technologies. We saw that the netizens can create a more participatory democracy and can really bring people together in a way that has not been possible before. However, as always this participation will be limited in countries that do not have internet access giving validity to Castells thoughts. Juris speaks about the global justice movements and that is another topic we have seen in the website we have looked at. Many people on the internet are attempting to get their message out, and when this is done in a passive way we being to see horizontal expansion. We saw websites such as the Zapatistas who were attempting to enlighten the world on their plight and in doing so created a new awareness about their situation. In this way we see that the internet has allowed for a more participatory culture that can be organized without there every being one central overarching body doing the organization.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

(account deleted) 1243824011|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

"Many people on the internet are attempting to get their message out, and when this is done in a passive way we being to see horizontal expansion. "

Can you go into more detail about how you see this is as passive? I wasn't paying attention while scrolling down and read that and thought it was a great point that Marc has drawn out, but it wasn't him!

What would be considered active? That would be an excellent point about Moore's superpower exercising its power if we flesh it out.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

(account deleted) 1243823605|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

"Everything or everyone that is absent from this space cannot reach the public mind, thus it becomes a non entity."

My project is a lot humbler than attempting to grapple with Castell's major points about public policy, education, property rights, and shared growth. I took that line out of this weeks reading because it is the issue that I am trying to address, the role of media in promoting or dispromoting news into existence, or nonexistence. I had never seen it worded as a binary issue, but it does seem to be the case with news today. Many more people can be engaged in the "space of communication" where politics and news occur, both as media disseminators issuing forth proclamations and horizontal participators consuming opinions, forming opinions, creating their own and spreading it to each other. This space of communication is the center of political "hegemony or counter-hegemony", the only way to make something exist politically, and as such requires more scrutiny and study.

I hope to join the conversation that Juris has already participated in with his work on the success of horizontal participation in the space of socialized communication. The reasons he considers the movements successful are the reasons people participate in this space. His study on the "superpower" of globalized social justice movements covers the benefits of such a system effectively, networking technologies allow them (global justice movements) to communicate and organize in a network-based form, to "reflect the network as an emerging political and cultural ideal." Modern anarchism. Castells (somewhat) and Juris (definitely) acknowledge that we have already succeeded in rallying under the banner of networked public spaces to form Moore's superpower. Juris seems to take Castells issues and say that the solution will come from that superpower's laboratory, Castells's paper focuses on the need for reform, and points out the barriers that are preventing reform from the top-down.

I want to participate as a part of Moore's superpower by trying to disseminate information globally about media and its role in the issues plaguing a networked society.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

JHinds728 1243828930|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I have many civic engagement ambitions for my project. My topic is black stereotypes at Santa Clara. Correlating to Castels, my civic engagement project has a relationship between technological innovation and social values. Through my website I am presenting my view of the harm of black stereotypes and possible solutions. Castel believes that technology marks a change in social values and through my website I am reaching a much larger audience than I would if I were to present a speech or hold a rally. As Castels says, my website is may not be a solution to black stereotypes, but at least it will present an interesting and hopefully new outlook on stereotypes that might spark an overall change in how people look and deal with stereotypes, especially on college campuses.
From this, perhaps policy changes will emerge that will impact college campuses, maybe Santa Clara as well. Issues such as how people profile others according to stereotypes may possibly change. These policy changes may have an impact on how people get selected for jobs or what schools they get into. It may resemble affirmative action but have more of a modernized social motivation. It may also get trickled down into how people are stereotyped based on where they live or their educational background.
Like Juris, I believe that stereotypes are perpetuated by the people who are at the top positions of power. As a result, the stereotypes have trickled down to the very meccas of education and society—college campuses. With stereotypes in mind, the idea of cognitive dissonance easily comes to play, concerning the easily influenced minds of young, impressionable college students. They find it hard to reconcile images of the intelligent black students they see with the ones that are plastered all over the media. Images of gang violence, unintelligence and sexual promiscuity are some black stereotypes that easily come to mind. By having the people at the top changes these ideas, we can only hope that eventually it will have an impact on students who will eventually be the new people in charge of the US. Basically, Juris believes that the actors at the top have a direct influence on changing the stereotypes.
My research will also have the impact of horizontal expansion because as more and more people become interested in the cause of ending stereotypes, then the movement will spread to other races, ages, genders, until it becomes a nationwide phenomenon. From joining these movements, people will become more informed about the harmful nature of stereotypes and take action to prevent them.
I hope to achieve some of the policy changes as described by Castels. By spreading the idea of the injurious nature of stereotypes then it may pick up nationwide action and then eventually trickle down to the college level. I am also hoping to take advantage of grass roots organizations, such as the ones advocated by Juris to help promote and keep the movement going nationwide. I can also relate this to Shirky’s organizing without organizations because I am not creating a big structured movement, I am simply doing this with my website and simply beginning a movement. Concerning the Korean netizens’ strategy of organizing with organizations, through my website I hope new movements will begin that will spur on a larger movement that will work toward changing organizations. It also relates to Moore because I am starting the movement from the ground up that will eventually work its way to the hierarchical system above.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

Kim Courtney 1243883717|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I have civic engagement for my final hypertext project. I am talking about anorexia and how the media influences girls to think, act, and look a specific way. Castell talks about the new transformation of sociability and states from research, Internet users are more socially and politically active than non-users. Castell also explains that with the advent of the internet there has been a transformation in the realm of communication. Interpersonal communication is more of a private sociable relationship, the Internet sets up a relationship between many institutions, organizations, to receive a plethora of information. This new, transformed structure of socialized communication is essential in the formation of making your own opinions of different topics and allows people to take action. So as Castell explains that the Internet broadens people's horizons, having my final hypertext project online will allow a wider audience to have access to my information. Hopefully more and more people will become aware of the dangers of Anorexia Nervosa not only for the individual with the illness but for the surrounding family and friends trying to help. And as Castell mentioned, Internet users are more socially and politically active, by publishing my hypertext to the Internet, I am providing my research to an aggressive crowd who will take what they've read from my site and hopefully apply it somehow to their life and take some sort of action.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

Dyani 1243893705|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My project deals heavily with topics discussed by these authors. I am looking into the current demise of the Newspaper industry which has a lot to do with Internet use, networks, individual engagement and the power that the average citizen can get from using the Internet. In fact while reading Castells in particular, I was able to brainstorm a variety of additional points for my project.

In particular, Castells discusses "the transformation of the realm of communication, including the media," which is basically the topic that I am covering. With the Internet, more and more people are allowed to take in and process information as well as distribute their opinion about that information. Ideas can be translated globally (Juris) and movements can occur (netizens, Zapatistas). The traditional news industry is no longer that gatekeepers of the information that the public receives. Individuals, day to day citizens have the ability to create and distribute "news." I use quotations because "news" is also a personal concept, what one person deems newsworthy may not be seen in the same terms by another. This is changing the business model of the news industry to include the idea of power from below as discussed in Moore, rather than the top down flow of power that was characteristic of the media. As Castells says, mass communication is "often initiated by individuals or groups by themselves, bypassing the media system." So then, what is the role of traditional journalists in our society today? In Castells' lecture he discussed, what is a very sad and unfortunately real issue: that journalism as we know it is coming to an end.

In many ways, citizen journalism can be seen as a way that individuals are organizing without organization, taking matters into their own hands, covering stories that aren't cover, or in a way that traditional media fails to report. The Internet allows this type of limitless form of narration and discussion.

Finally, there are so many reasons for the shift in the media industry, the Internet itself is not to blame. If used effectively journalists can use it to revive and adapt their role in society, but they have to find a way to work with the media, their audience, and potential audience. Castells also discussed the issue of credibility, have a face online in order to establish trust and a relationship. Trust, he said, is built around an image, and journalists need to change their image to fit a changing world.

My project seeks to explore what options the traditional media industry has to stay afloat and be heard once more. My idea is for a happy medium, a co-existence between traditional and citizen journalism. I feel we can share the world & the Internet, so we have to be able to share the media. It should not be about control, but about giving due justice to everyone's story and point of view.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

bdonaldson 1243911765|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I see my "civic engagement' ambitions falling more in line with Juris than with Castells. My goal is not to change policy, but to change peoples' minds about they stance on a personal issue, namely what beer they choose to drink. Castells points out that the network society needs to change policy, but my engagement is not along those lines. There is no need to try to regulate beer consumption, but it is worthwhile to try to persuade people. I want them to slow down and enjoy things. I will take advantage of the network society to try to get my message across. Also, in that way I have a direct audience that will most likely be socio-economically able to change their ways, part of what Castells sees as the dichotomy of technology. The use of technology has increased the rift between the haves and the have-nots. And it is generally the haves that are going to be able to conform to the ideals of slow food.

I like the idea that Juris presents of "horizontal expansion" creating a movement of common interests, values and goals. This is already what slow food is trying to do. By being able to tie my goals (to get beer treated as slow food) into the organization already set up, I am able to take advantage of a base of people who already share some of these commonalities. In many ways, I am acting much in the sense of the Korean netizens, in that I am trying to organize within an organization. While this movement started out as just a set of ideals, it has since been formed into a group, within which people can act to organize events, changes in policy, etc., and much of this takes place on the internet. So even though the ideal of the group is to slow down, that does not mean they are disconnected, a point I think Castells makes well. Just because you use the internet, that does not mean you are disconnected from personal contact; in fact, it is often quite the opposite case.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

Comb4tPho3n1x 1243969652|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I recently changed my civic engagement project. My first topic I enjoyed, but I wasn't sure how I was going to really research anything on it. However, I am now going to write about the right to health care. I think that this is a huge issue and a topic of great debate especially now. I am currently taking an Ethics in the Health Professions class and so this issue is right at the forefront of my mind from that as well. I think this issue can be related to Castells quite well. Castells talks about changing policy and using technology to do so. I think that this is perfectly in line with what I intend to do with my project. Granted I don't actually think that I will get policy makers to change what our current policies are with my simple web page, but perhaps I will get enough people to take a look at my ideas and ethical challenges that they will begin to consider. I think that by taking advantage of our network society I can get my message out to those that have health care. I think that the people who have health care tend to forget or dismiss the problems of those who don't have it. I know I for one have started to think about this issue because once I leave Santa Clara I will no longer be insured unless my parents decide to pick me up on their insurance. Given my position then there wouldn't be anything I could do about it. This is the idea I think I want people to understand using my webpage and Castells idea of a technology society used for social change.

In addition I think that my topic works well with the horizontal expansion idea. Currently I think that health care is a very vertically expanded business or commodity if you will. I would like to get those of us who have health care, that are paying for it yes, to understand that the other 60 million Americans who go in and out of coverage every year are being treated unjustly. I think that this is a perfect example of horizontal expansion. The people in this situation already understand their plight and thus I will be expanding that knowledge to those that don't or choose not to understand it. I don't see this as really organizing with organizations because I won't be working with any organization in reality, but I will be using some ideas from certain organizations like AMSA (American Medical Student Association). So in this sense I would say that I am organizing without organizations as suggested by Shirky. There is not necessarily a movement that I am going to be following or working with like the Korean netizens. I think that it could be interpreted that way, but in reality I am taking on this project and attempting to spread knowledge horizontally to bring about social change.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

samllona 1244923859|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement is on a term called timesizing. It is the idea that we should be shrinking our workweek in order to create more jobs and less stress in American individuals. Such a notion would go under “horizontal expansion,” a mass movement based on common interests, values and goals. A “shared growth” through timesizing in our economy has the potential to reverse our current downward spiral.

Timesizing is based off ideas from Korean netizens (organizing with organizations). We already have unions and businesses in place. What is needed is a spark across the nation. There are a people who have started this movement already. Ron Healey and his son Nicholas are management consultants in Indiana who sell their 30/40 Plan to regional business and industry they key on the plastics industry. "30/40" indicates 30 hours work for 40 hours pay, attractive to companies and industries that have been having difficulty finding quality employees on the usual 40/40 basis. In theory, workers will want to work for one company over another if they can work for less and receive the same pay. This allows the company using the 30/40 plan to pick the best employees for their business. This is also attractive to potential employees who can't handle an eight-hour day, but could handle a six-hour day, especially if it offers full pay and benefits. A majority of American works would like to see a shorter work week. I’m willing to bet the rest of those voters only want a long work week because they need the full pay. Both of these can be accomplished by lowering required work hours while keeping benefits.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

Audrey Kuma 1243919396|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civil engagement project is about Hawaiian Sovereignty, with emphasis on the regaining of Hawaiian rights after the forceful overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy a little over 100 years ago. While this issues has gotten its fair share of press time, I feel that the reasons Native Hawaiians are protesting and advocating for the upholding and reinstating of their rights have not been fully disclosed and are not understood by the mass public. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that our network society is primarily based on vertical networks controlled by high-powered groups at the top of this hierarchy. On the other hand, present Hawaiian activist groups aren’t helping the situation by protesting in ways that have lead to arrests and therefore a decrease in respect by the general public. As stated by Castell, “there is in fact a big gap between knowledge and public consciousness, mediated by the communication system and the processing of information within our mental frames” (7). What this means is that the public opinion/knowledge of a certain issue only spans as large as wide as the media will allow. We don’t feel like we need to collect all the facts for ourselves, rather we develop our ideas based on what we see and what is reported. With this said, it is this exact state of mind that has lead the issue of Hawaiian Sovereignty/rights being looked as nothing more than a frivolous attempt of a power struggle.

Instead, I want to focus my project on a way to create a horizontal network between these grassroots organizations. I feel that my project will utilize Juris’s idea of a new “cultural logic of networking,” by creating a way for these grassroots organizations to come together over the internet and collaborate on new ideas and share information. It is only through “horizontalism” that these decentralized groups can find a way to work together to create a more effective movement that will create results. As Castell mentions, “the technological malleability of the new media allows a much greater integration of all sources of communication into the same hypertext.” And it is this integration that will create a stronger network between these groups.

My project will also integrate Shirky’s example of organizing without organizations because the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement is solely based on grassroots movements where word and popularity is spread by word of mouth. It is through these individual based Hawaiian activist groups that change needs to addressed and stem from.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

jacquelinel 1243926154|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civil engagement describes the influence a particular genre of hip hop has on youth. Juris' article relates to my feelings about hip hop. The top down system that excludes less commercial rap is something that bothers me. The way to end the problems surrounding hip hop, I feel, is to get "grass roots" rappers more visibility. But how is this done?

While Castells mentions on page 19 a need for a change in policy, I dont think this relates to my project. I think it is important to keep policy the way it is, not to change laws in order to stop rap from being negative. Again, what I think is important is a change from the top down method. Once that is changed, and things are more horizontal, then there will be more opinions and view points widely heard by impressionable children. Once There is no absolute top, as there is now, then there will not be a small elite who are perpetuating the images that are projected onto rappers and mass marketed to the youth.

The more horizontal participation, the better. It makes for more view point that are in contrast and promotes engagement from listeners. It forces listeners to think, and choose what ideas they believe. My hope is, kids won't pick the negative messages.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

efisk 1243926630|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

"The issue is to recognize the contours of our new historical terrain, meaning the world we
live in. Only then it will be possible to identify the means by which specific societies in specific contexts can pursue their goals and realize their values by using the new opportunities generated by the most
extraordinary technological revolution in humankind, the one transforming our capacities of communication and enabling to modify the codes of life, that is the one giving us the tools to actually master our own condition, with all the potentially destructive or creative implications of this capacity" (Castells 5).
My civic engagement project investigates the effects of today's media (particularly the entertainment media, focusing on reality television) on the values of society. Part of what comes along with the new technology that we have available is responsibility: responsibility to critically analyze the content we consume and how we allow it to affect our lives, values and activities. The youth have grown up with this technology available; it has replaced the activities of old such as playing baseball in the street and dress-up. Are we at risk of allowing the values of our society to disintegrate as these younger generations grow and mature and take leadership roles in society?
Undeniably our culture has changed; in some ways, the networked society offer potential of great value for becoming involved and progressing. However, with the ability to disseminate information to just about anyone who can access it, there poses the risk that we have not taught our youth enough about how to discern between valuable and useless information. If they chose to emulate what they saw on reality television, believing that it is what it claims to be- "reality"- and did not know how to consider it (perhaps they are uneducated in the ideas of Nietzsche) for themselves, we could be allowing the technology to corrupt our society and those who follow us.
Arguably, television has been a method of networked sharing for decades- many consumers are able to access it for information, they just haven't been able to participate in it.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

cjaeckels 1243962243|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement project is focusing on anorexia and how to be a friend towards anorexics. This disorder is becoming more and more common amongst today's adolescents and young adults. It is also a very serious issue and nothing something to be taken lightly. One of the reasons this has become such an issue in more recent times is because of the effect of media and technology. Youth is constantly being faced with "perfect" people thrown at your face. Castells argument about changing policy did not really relate to my project as much. I do not want to change policy at all. I want to make people aware how much anorexia is an issue, but more importantly, how to help those in need. I am going to go about this through taking my own personal experiences of helping best friend struggle with anorexia for three years.
Instead, I feel that Juris's idea of "horizontal expansion" and trying to change the network is more applicable to what I am trying to do. The issue of eating disorders like anorexia has developed into a cultural problem. It is obvious to see what cultures struggle with it more than others. I want people that have been anorexic or have been a friend to an anorexic help each other and give each other tips on what to do. I want people to spread their experiences. I think telling personal experiences is much more influential than just reading facts. When I was helping my friend get through her disorder, I wish I would have had someone share with me their experiences and give me some tips. It is not an easy thing to get through. I want to apply Juris's concept of spreading the information. I think that small, local groups could help this issue alot. Many anorexics just need a friend and it would improve the situation drastically.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

efisk 1243967724|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Continuing off my last post, my plan is to use reality television as the model, then generalizing to overall responsibility in the use of our media. Marc has exposed us to a number of areas in which technology is used to network people for positive causes or expose them to technology that adds to the value of a networked society (i.e. Social Impact Gaming, the organization of the protesters for the 1999 anti-WTO protest). On that subject, Juris notes, "The general blockade strategy, where diverse formations 'swarm' their target (Arquilla and Ronfeldt, 2001), inscribing meanings into urban terrains of resistance (Routledge, 1994) through alternative forms of embodied political praxis, produces high-powered social drama indeed" (346). This brings to mind the "real" reality television. These are things that are truly happening, that are making an impact in history and are what children are not being brought up to recognize and understand. I myself remember when this demonstration was going on, and my family watched it on television. At the time, I did not fully understand what was going on (possibly because I didn't care enough), but looking back I wish that I had been taught about what was going on. Major events occur every year and my parents have tried to increase my awareness by helping me to see it and hopefully understand it. However, this is less likely and true of the current round of teenagers.
To be continued… again.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

ktolentino 1243970980|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My project is about the problems of the strict-structured, compartmentalized, standardized education system and the way in which the system rewards only certain kinds of achievement— the way in which it ascribes a "right answer" or "right way" to every aspect of learning. Through our readings of Castells, Gee, etc. we've discussed the problems that the nature of our educational system has on our country (a "dumbing-down" effect), but I want to focus on the way in which students are personally affected.

To tell the truth, I'm having a bit of trouble finding strong connections between this week's reading and my civic engagement project… but I'll do my best to sort out my ideas here. Juris discusses the potential for grassroots movements to "plug in" to already existing, similar movements, furthering the horizontal networking structure and allowing for more individual needs to be discussed. I suppose this applies to my project in that I'm entering an academic discussion about the problem of the educational system through my hypertext— though much of the literature I've looked into centers around the problems structured education is causing for our country, I'm fleshing out a slightly different and less discussed perspective, by publishing recorded accounts from students I've interviewed and detailing my own experiences.

Castells discusses a need for policy change surrounding the issue of education, in order that schools can renounce their reliance on standardized methods and instead effectively celebrate and meet the growing societal need for creativity and innovation. I'm pushing to spread similar values through the discussion in my hypertext, though perhaps not as explicitly as Castells. I may not advocate sweeping public policy changes as much as a louder response/pushback from the victims of structured education, in the form of learning to develop individual creativity and innovation both within and outside the system, and putting it to use without the help of standardized education. Yeah, I'm a little shaky on the "what's the solution?" part of my hypertext. But this kind of relates.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

klin1 1243973468|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Castells suggests that we are in a process of “Transformation of Sociability.” Even though technology may seem to isolate individuals by decreasing the human touch, it should also be taken in consideration that this is not an end to sociability, rather it is a transformation. This transformation builds into what Castells mentions as the networked individualism, which is ultimately equivalent to the network society. Internet users are in fact, more social and active than non-users. Rather than my previous assumption that this technological world isolates human touch, Castells uses the example that all the text messages and other social tools actually fold technology into our own lives “linking up virtual reality with reality.” Most people don’t use social technological tools to disguise reality, in fact they link it together with their reality as a way to social.

Therefore, this transformation of sociability connects well with my intention of the civic engagement. My civic engagement of researching on antitrust as well as mostly writing about my thoughts on it is definitely a way to tie my reality through virtual reality as means to be socially active and responsive to this difficulty. Through the hypertext, I am being open by giving advice to the consequences of a law in hopes to help those who might be going through the same thing or to raise the question of the necessity of the punishment from the law. Even though the network society is based on a global network with no boundaries, I will consequently have no idea whom I would actually be socialing to or with. Nevertheless, this transformation of sociability of my civic engagement has an intention to provide something to the global world. Castells mentions that putting more computers out don’t equal social change, it is the where, to whom, by whom and what that is important. Thus, I believe the civic engagement is at its best attempt to be up with the where, to whom, by whom and what to try to be best of a potential for social change. However, it is still the decision of the society if it actually does have an impact. More so, the process of interactive creativity in the network world is contradicted by the legislation of property rights from the industrial era. However, even if it is contradictory, creativity and innovation is the key to social change in all society currently.

As for Juris, I really liked the fact that he pointed out the idea of having one foot in and one foot out. To my understanding, I think it is hard and complicated to attempt to change a cause (in Juris, the ESF, in my civic engagement project, the law). Rather, the forum should be used as a space to maintain autonomy with respect to the official space in order to be connected. For my project, I am respecting the law and understanding the benefits of keeping competitive business, however I may question on the consequences from the law by providing personal experience.

The forum from Juris’ study in Barcelona brought in tens of thousands of people from diverse movement networks, thus creating a unique space of encounter and an exchange of ideas as a result. It created “horizontal network logic by not only continuing to build autonomous spaces with forums but also working to inscribe the politics within the forum itself.” The forum proved to be useful, according to Juris, in that it brought their own projects forward and allowed promotion of constructive change from within as well. This is important in that it is a two-way improvement process. For my civic project, I want to bring my engagement forward while discovering changes from within during the process of making the hypertext.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

mmh1019 1243982255|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement hypertext is about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. It's a very personal topic for me because my mom had cancer my junior year of high school, and I also feel that not enough girls my age, around the world, have the resources and knowledge about the importance of mammograms and such. As I read Juris's piece, I realized that it did apply to my topic. His comment that "global justice movements are global" struck me because of the inconsistency to which that idea has been implemented worldwide. Thinking about my topic personally, we still have a long way to go in the education about breast cancer awareness. At this point, his point, "Some have objected that these movements are restricted to middleclass youths with Internet connections and resources to travel. This is largely true for direct action-oriented sectors, which tend to be youth-based and located in major or secondary “global cities” (Sassen, 1991), along important transnational trajectories of power." makes a lot of sense because the money simply isn't there in a lot of the developing countries to give them the accessibility to the doctors and technology they need. As spoken about in all three readings, we are truly in the process of a social transformation, and have been in one for a long time. This social transformation has both positive and negative aspects, thinking about the growth of the media (in strength) and their ability to rationalize what will and will not be shown on the different networks. This has definitely affected how the media portrays illnesses like cancer. It can be done tastefull and it can also be sensationalized and overdone.
I would love to be a part of the change in perception and ideas about breast cancer. I think it has to come from below, building those groups who can go to Washington or to their local governments to ask for more money for research. Breast cancer is one of the top killers of women, and the age of women getting diagnosed is getting younger and now. Now that my mom has had cancer, my chances of getting it, along with my sisters, has more than doubled. I would love to be a part of the group who puts Juris's ideas about the grassroots movements into action

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

efisk 1243985021|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Here is what I hope is my concluding post.
With all of the talking we've been doing about people having access to most anything, being able to do most anything, the wonders and resources of the Internet, I think that my focus is mostly on trying to remind everyone that with all of this information running free, we have to be careful about what we let matter to us. Being connected in the way that Juris describes in important, but we need to recognize what we're in a position to create something that is bigger than all of us. I am using reality TV as the model, because I can look at the way that our culture has changed with the development of technology and how television has changed with reality TV. If we are interested in the future, we will work to find new ways to educate everyone to manage the wealth of what is in front of us in the form of technology. Basic values, such as respect, thoughtfulness, family, education, etc. may or may not be preserved as we continue in a world of increased independence and ease of access to anything we need. Certainly, networking allows us to connect with others, but as some of my readings note, children are learning more from their peers and from technology than they are from their parents. Change may be good, but not all good, and in this case we need to pay attention to where the changes are occurring and what the consequences of such a change might be. If there is a noticeable gap in the way that my brother and I grew up, and us only being a few years apart, one can estimate the gap between children and their parents, and children and their grandparents. This threatens the family model of closeness and dependence, connection and respect, communication and close relationships, which has been a treasured part of communities and family groups. I am refining how I will tackle this project, but remembering that network societies cannot take the place of real societies is critical. Additionally, Juris provides good examples of how networked societies can be used to make real changes in society, progressing towards a better world as opposed to using the networking capabilities unthinkingly and for negative reasons. Without the ability to network, massive social changes could not occur and would not be making the changes in the world that can only occur as the result of a massive group movement. This movement being in the right direction demonstrates that a meeting of minds can reinforce the values that society needs to continue to be a true community. Responsible citizens actively maintain the community they live in, and networking improves this capability.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

JohnHI 1243986820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I really liked Juris' articles and the topic of the differences and diversity between actors in these justice movements are used as a binding agent in forming movements and the many protests he mentions. People become apart of justice movements and protests for many different reasons and agendas, and this is due to the belief that within justice movements there is an aspect, goal, or central principle that is shared by each individual within the movement and network.
This directly correlates to our civic engagement hypertext. My topic of the financial crisis and college graduated employment does not speak or touch everyone on this earth, but there has to be at least one aspect of this problem that does grab a fairly large amount of people. If it is not just college graduates, its those what have unfortunately been a subject to the financial crisis with the loss of a job or the loss of money, etc….
I also like the fact that Juris proclaims himself as an ethnographer and activist. Me being an anthropologist, much of what Juris has to say directly correlates to what I have been studying these last four years. Being an active part of a movement and at the same time observing and researching movements is a direction anthropology is going in and I take pride in that.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

MRZhao 1244007111|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement project has to do with medical volunteering and how medical teams across the world are in need of non-medical skilled professionals / students to join their teams to promote awareness about the disease. I am using the infectious eye disease Trachoma as an example and case study. There are many people out there that want to volunteer to go on medical volunteering trips but are sometimes intimidated to join because of their lack of medical experience. They should not be intimidated at all! With respect to Trachoma, there are many types of individuals that would greatly enhance the rate at which awareness and prevention can be spread throughout disease-stricken areas. Teachers can participate by teaching their students how to wash their hands properly to prevent the spread of the disease from person-to-person. Construction workers are especially needed to build latrines and wells so that villagers have access to water at least within a mile of their homes and that they can have clean water at that as well. Any type of graphic designers are welcomed as well, as their talent can aid in the murals and posters that can be distributed around the villages showing how to effectively stop the spread of the disease from person to person. Prevention is as important as treatment and volunteers who can aid in any way can join.

My video will be a PSA that will be a "call to action" for people to join the Trachoma medical teams in action right now. I will speak to undergraduate students, artists, radio broadcasters, contruction workers, t-shirt makers, soap makers, and any other profession I can think of that can contribute.

When I think about my project, I immediately think about Juris' paper about how technological advancements have contributed to global activism. I don't think I am trying to necessarily "change policies", but I am definitely trying to change the public's mindset about the medical volunteering field. Ultimately, the change I am pursuing is one that opens opportunities in people's minds—that they have the ability to think about these new opportunities in a different light. I want people to realize that they can indeed join medical teams and should not be intimidated. It is only advantageous that we all select different paths in our lives but that we can all come together to use those skills for the betterment of society. This is my activist goal. I hope that when people read and look through my hypertext, they become more aware about the disease, as it is not really talked about here in the United States. I am definitely trying to spread the word about it in a horizontal fashion, trying to reach as many types of people as possible.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

cstamas 1244009553|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement hypertext will focus on athletics and higher education at the undergraduate level. More specifically, I will address how varsity athletes are recruited to come to a school with their priorities set with sports instead of education. I will base a lot of information on my own experience of being a varsity athlete and having to forgo a normal university student's lifestyle in order to perform at peak performance at my sport. Going off this idea, I will also discuss topics surrounding how schools are positively and negatively affected by sports and the public's perspective of a university based on sports teams.

Although I'm not sure if my hypertext will deal at all with policy, the thing I take away most from Castells is his focus on education. Castells makes it very clear that he believes the school system must change in order for the new "values-rooted" worker he proposes to exist. Although athletes may value education, the demands from their sport, coaches, and peers may not allow them to attain the level of learning they might wish to. Without significant time and effort devoted to their education, these athletes will be unable to earn an education surrounding creativity and innovation, which Castells says is the most important in creating social change. Rather, assuming athletes graduate, (which less than 50% do) they will receive an education that is unlike what Castells deems necessary for the benefit of our society and the network society.

Juris's discussion of horizontal politics as opposed to vertical politics was particularly inspiring to me. After following the last presidential election and trying to keep up with the political scene recently, the stories covered in the media are often times frustratingly tedious, petty and socially irrelevant. I hope network technology can change this like he states. The more power activists are given, the more positive social change becomes possible. Anyways, in relation to my hypertext, I see my site being a source of awareness rather than political. Through Juris's idea of horizontal consuption, if enough people feel a connection to the values and issue I address, a supported movement could spread. I believe so many people are engulfed in the entertainment of college sports that they never remotely think about the athlete's lives as a university student. My goal is to provide information from this perspective as well as other perspectives surrounding the university and their sports' programs. While I'm not trying to start a grassroots movement like Juris talks about, if enough people feel engaged in my topic, hopefully word and awareness can spread.

Re: Civic Engagement in the Network Society

mistawongy 1245100615|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

My civic engagement project is to inform people about the model minority myth which entails that Asian Americans have achieved the American dream through hard work and determination without engaging in political or physical confrontation. Castells emphasizes the importance of an educated society. My project begins by analyzing the demographics of Asian Americans and why one might believe in the model minority myth. It shows that when all the subpopulations (Chinese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, etc.) are represented under a single homogenous group, their statistics rank higher than the national average in some categories. However, when each individual subpopulation is analyzed, it is apparent that many subgroups fall short in areas such as college education or English proficiency. I also show how the model minority stereotype creates additional stress for Asian Americans because it assumes that all Asian Americans should be academically inclined. My project also supports Castells example of a relationship between technological innovation and social values. Through the use of websites and Youtube videos, I will be able to reach a much broader audience.
Both Juris and Castell state that the people in power have the greatest influence. My civic engagement gives a couple examples of this such as how in the year 2000 when John Mccain stated, “I hate the gooks, I will hate them as long as I live”. You would think someone with so much influential power would refrain from saying statements such as these since it may be politically detrimental. The fact that he still had so many supporters during the 2008 election shows that his use of racial slurs was simply a minute character flaw. I also post pictures of Time and Newsweek magazines that lead their readers into believing the model minority myth. Juris is also interested in the “opportunity for small groups” to use network technology, which is exactly what my website is trying to do. Asian Americans nationwide are affected by the model minority stereotype so that on its own promotes assimilation.